Squirrel Hurdles

Welcome to the Blogville Squirrel Hurdles Event. Our athletes have been screened by the Olympic Commitee for bugs and are prepared for the event. While many would prefer to increase the odds of catching squirrels by having a nice clear approach to the squirrel most know their are obstacles and often hurdles that must be cleared to reach the elusive squirrel. Thus squirrel hurdles was born.

Our first participant is Corbin of Oh Corbin

Next up is Dante of All About Lacocoon Dante

Our next canidate is Goose of Gospel of Goose

Next to compete Lassiter and Benjamin of Lassiter Chase

Up next will be Lily Belle and Muffin of Lovable Lily

In the next round will be Molly of Molly The Wally

Our next athlete will be Nina of Bird Brains and Dog Tales

Appearing next will be Posie of Posie Dog

Ready to make the next round is Roo of Roo's Doins

Up next is Roxy of Downunder Daisy

Appearing next will be Sarge of Sarge Speaks Out

Next on the field is Storm of Charlene and Storm

Our final contestant for the 2012 Squirrel Hurdles Olympic event will be Tavish of Big Bubba and Baby Sister Blogger

We thank all the athletes for their participation and hard work in training for this event. Please pick up your medal and display it proudly on your blog.

Don't forget to visit DRAW your Peeple and the Snack Sack Race to cheer on the athletes as they have all worked so hard in their events.

The Blogville Olympics Continues

We are having so much fun participating in events and visiting the other venues when we aren't competing in events. Today we participated in stick jumping which you can see the wonderful video of the event at Bert's here. We both participated in the event and really enjoyed this event.

We went and visited the Stick event over at Goose's and you can view the video here. The event features both singles and doubles events. It is well worth the time to visit. Tomorrow is Marathon Chewing and Digging. Looking at the list of events, we are hosting Squirrel Hurdles and it looks like our only remaining athletic event is the Tennis Ball one. We will be heading over to cheer on all the athletes at the events, though.

Mama is So Impressed

The Mama wants to congratulate all the hosts on the amazing jobs they have been doing on the Blogville Olympic events. Things have been a little crazy lately, but while we haven't been blogging as much as we hoped to during the games, we have been trying to travel to all the events and cheer on the athletes. The competitions have been wonderful. There are some amazingly talented animals out there.

We can't wait to start the Squirrel Hurdles.

The Blogville Olympics has Opened

Mom has been a bit busy lately, but we are so excited that the Olympics has begun. We lined up to participate in the Parade of Athletes which you can see at Posie's here. Then we heard an amazing speech by Mayor Frankie which you can find here. It was a wonderful way to kick off the Olympics. Then we were treated to Roo's Opening Extravaganza which you can find here.

After such a busy morning we will be getting in some practice for synchronized sleeping. We still feel this is our strongest event.

Don't forget to pick up your badge for the Olympics.

Bloggers Unite for Dog Rescue

Dog Rescue Success, Blog Catalog and btc4 animals are sponsoring a day for bloggers to raise awareness about dog adoption.

Since we are only in our current home due to the amazing work of rescue workers and foster parents associated with New England Sheltie Rescue we felt it was important to participate today.

There are lots of options for rescue. Mom and Dad really wanted Shelties, but were commited to using a rescue. With research they discovered they could do both. New England Sheltie Rescue provided them with a Sheltie puppy for Dad's first ever dog. Since he had never had a dog he really wanted a puppy for his first dog. Many people told Mom and Dad it was impossible to find a Sheltie pup, especially a pure bred, through a shelter or rescue. Well they were prepared to wait and then I popped up on the breed rescue site and they became doggy parents very quickly. Several years later, when I was lonely and needed a companion, Mom and Dad brought Katy home when she was two.

Mom and Dad have continued to support our rescue and also participate in local fundraisers for shelters and rescues. You may have seen our walk pictures. Shelters and rescues always need help. Financial support is always welcome. Check with your local shelter/rescue to discover what donations and volunteer work is needed. Even small efforts can help.

Those of us who have adopted have the ability to share our positive stories of pet adoption/rescue with others. We can encourage others as they ponder the process and support them through the application process and as they settle in with the new dog.

Blogville Olympic Squirrel Hurdle Entries are Closed

Update:
We realized we were missing an athlete. We technically have 13.

The Olympic Squirrel Hurdle trials are over and the contestants have been entered in the event. We have 12 athletes competing in Squirrel Hurdles and you can see the event here on August 8.

Corbin Oh Corbin

Dante All About Lacocoon Dante

Goose of Gospel of Goose

Lassiter and Benjamin of Lassiter Chase

Lily Belle and Muffin of Lovable Lily

Molly Molly The Wally

Nina Bird Brains and Dog Tales

Posie Posie Dog

Roo of Roo's Doins

Roxy Downunder Daisy

Sarge Sarge Speaks Out

Storm of Charlene and Storm

Tavish Big Bubba and Baby Sister Blogger

We have entered 8 events as well as the opening and closing ceremonies. You can see us competing in discus/frisbee, window art, couch potato peeling, cross neighborhood walkabout, critter stalking, pole jumping, synchronized sleeping, and the tennis ball event.

Olympic Training Accident

Katy had to visit the vet yesterday after getting a splinter in her paw. She was quite a brave girl about the injury, but her training schedule has been drastically reduced to deal with her injury.

We think this would be a great time to get her sleeping and couch events finished.

Wordless Wednesday

Blogville Olympics Squirrel Hurdles Athletes

Entries have begun to arrive and will be accepted until July 18 for the Squirrel Hurdles event. I will continue to update this page so you can check out the competitors for the medals in this event.

We are continuing to work hard on getting our entries in for our events as well.

Corbin Oh Corbin

Dante All About Lacocoon Dante

Goose of Gospel of Goose

Lassiter and Benjamin of Lassiter Chase

Lily Belle and Muffin of Lovable Lily

Molly Molly The Wally

Nina Bird Brains and Dog Tales

Roo of Roo's Doins

Roxy Downunder Daisy

Sarge Sarge Speaks Out

Storm of Charlene and Storm

Tavish Big Bubba and Baby Sister Blogger


So far we have registered for the discus/frisbee event, window art, opening and closing ceremonies, couch potato peeling, cross neighborhood walkabout, critter stalking, pole jumping, sycronized sleeping, and the tennis ball event. Mom realized our eyes were open for some of the sleeping/couch peeling event shots she wanted to use, so she will have to get those done hopefully before this posts.

Registration is Open for the Blogville Olympics

We are so excited that we can actually start sending and receiving photographs for Olympic events. You can find a list of event host posts here to find out where to register. Our event is the Squirrel Hurdles the information for the event is posted here. All entries for the Squirrel Hurdles can be sent to sheltietimes(at)yahoo(dot)com. Please pictures only as Mama cannot manage videos.

We will be posting and updating a list of athletes participating soon.

Happy Birthday Mom!

Mom has a birthday this weekend. Katy wants to get her a bone basket, but Dad said no. He did indicate we might get bones if we behave to celebrate her birthday though. We still have time to come up with a great gift, but time is running out. It is so hard to know what to get.

The fourth of July was so fun. We had one of our favorite people stay over and spend the holiday with us. The rain delayed the start of the parade, stopped and only resumed at the very end of the parade, so Mom and Dad were happy to get to see it. We stayed home and practiced for the Olympic events.

We think this is one of our best synchronized sleeping shots yet. We are so excited that we can start entering photographs for the Blogville Olympics on July 9th!!

Fourth of July Plans

So what are your plans for the 4th of July?

One of our favorite people is staying over tonight to attend the parade with Mom and Dad tomorrow. Her town starts early and she would be blocked in if she did not escape tonight. It just means we have more time with her.

I used to go to the parade, but the muskets and the fire engines are too scary for Katy, so I stay home and protect her from the illegal fire crackers. Does anyone think fire engines have gotten louder? Just asking. They didn't seem so loud when I was a puppy.

Dad promises lots of dog time when they get back and more family coming for a cookout. So while we will miss out on the parade, there will be plenty of family time after.

Hope you all have a safe and happy 4th of July.

Are You Busy Training for the Blogville Olympics?

Are you hard at work training for the Olympic events? We think the sleeping events are going to be our strongest. We are struggling with getting our opening and closing photographs. For some reason when one of us is sitting the other seems to want to flop down or stand up. For the standing photograph, well you get the idea. Perhaps as the deadline approaches we will find our inspiration.

You will be able to start sending in photographs soon. You can start emailing photographs to the event hosts on July 9th. We have a post here that lists the specific blog posts for the Blogville events so you can find all the information you need to know. Mama has not received all the info on the cat events so she has not been able to add those yet.

We are hosting the Squirrel hurdles and are looking forward to meeting all the contestants. You can find details to register for our event here.

Wordless Wednesday: Training Hard for the Olympics in Katy's Crate

Blogville Olympics Where to Find the Events

Frankie has provided us with a list of events and I am trying to keep a list of event requirements and information as people post the events on their blogs. We don't want to miss out on registering and we thought others might find this helpful, too.

Fri. July 27th.
OPENING Entertainment Extravaganza
Parade of Athletes Event details here
Short Speech.

Sat. July 28th.
Window Nose Art/Snot Smears Event Details here
Swimming Event Details here

Sun. July 29th
Crazy Sleeping SINGLES
Synchronized Sleepers
Bouncing...... Narrative Style Event Details here

Mon. July 30th
Cross Neighborhood Walkabout Event Details here
Catch me IF you Can Event details here
BEACH Ball Event Details here

Tues. July 31st
Gymnastics Event Details here
Couch Potato Peeling Event details here

Wed. Aug. 1st
Tongue Curling / aka the Raspberry
Critter Stalking
DISCUS/frisbee Event Details here

Thur. Aug. 2nd
Stick(s Event Details here
Pole Jumping Event Details here

Fri. Aug. 3rd.
Marathon Chewing Event Details here
Digging Event details here

Sat. Aug. 4th
Tuneful Farting Event Details here
Keep Away Event Details here

Sun. Aug. 5th
Equestrian Event Details here
Camera Avoidance Tai Kwon Do

Mon. Aug. 6th
Synchronized Peeing
DE-Stuffing Event Details here

Tues. Aug. 7th
Free Style Zoomies Event Details here
Roaching and Rolling

Wed. Aug. 8th
Squirrel Hurdles
Event Details here
DRAW your Peeple Event Details here
Snack Sack Race

Thurs. Aug.9th
Boxing Event Details here
EXTREME Weather Sports Event Details here

Fri. Aug. 10th
Turbo Track Event Details here
Snoopendous SniffAthon Event Details here

Sat. Aug. 11th
The Great Tennis Ball Tournament
Bathtub Wrestling

Sun. Aug. 12th
Closing Ceremony Event Details here

I know people are still working on preparing their events. However, I also want to make sure I have not missed listing anyone’s event posting either. It looks like I am missing event details on:


I do not know if Roo requires any participation in the opening

I have not been able to locate event links for the following events. Some may be coming, but I may have missed others.


Oscar’s Sleeping Events
Mona and Weenie -Tongue Curling/Raspberry AND Critter Stalking
Mayzie - Camera Avoidance Kae Kwon Do
Ruby and Penny - Roaching and Rolling
Lulu - Snack Sack Race
Mollie Jo - The Great Tennis Ball
Uji and Izzy - Bathtub Wrestling

I know we all want to support each other’s events, so I want to make sure we all know where to find them. I am hoping creating a list with the direct blog posts will make it easier for all of us to participate. Have a great Olympics everyone.



I will keep updating this page as I learn more. If you are hosting an event and your post is not listed, please leave the link in the comments and I will add it to the list.

Blogville Olympics Squirrel Hurdles

Track and Field events are always big at the human summer Olympics. Squirrel Hurdles is our contribution to the Blogville Olympics. For those lacking squirrels do not dismay. Squirrel chasing and the hurdles we encounter as we chase those squirrels inspired this event. We have jumped (hurdled) garden fences, hostas, day lilies, humans, dogs, rocks and all kinds of other natural hurdles in our efforts to keep our yard squirrel free. To enter this event we just want to see you clearing a hurdle. You can use any of those listed above or those found in your yard/play areas indoors or out. We are looking for natural hurdles rather than competition hurdles though. If you happen to want to hurdle a squirrel, real or stuffie, feel free. This event is designed to demonstrate the natural hurdling skills we show as we keep our yards critter free.

As with all Olympic events, you can begin entering by submitting your pictures on July 9 with the deadline for pictures to be received midnight of July 18th. This will allow All Blogville Olympic athletes to be SCREENED fur Bugs. No early or late entries will be accepted. Mom's computer does better with pictures rather than videos. Hosting a Blogville event has convinced us we need our own email account so we are asking for pictures to be sent to sheltietimes (at) yahoo (dot) com starting on July 9th.

While entries are due on July 18th, please come back on August 8th to view the outcome of the Squirrel Hurdles event. We expect it to be a tough competition. We know there are some amazing jumpers in Blogville.

The schedule of events and the blog locations for information on those events are available below.

Fri. July 27th.
OPENING Entertainment Extravaganza, Parade of Athletes, and Short Speech.

Sat. July 28th.
Window Nose Art/Snot Smears
Swimming

Sun. July 29th
Crazy Sleeping SINGLES
Synchronized Sleepers
Bouncing...... Narrative Style

Mon. July 30th
Cross Neighborhood Walkabout
Catch me IF you Can
BEACH Ball

Tues. July 31st
Gymnastics
Couch Potato Peeling

Wed. Aug. 1st
Tongue Curling / aka the Raspberry
Critter Stalking
DISCUS/frisbee

Thur. Aug. 2nd
Stick (s)
Pole Jumping

Fri. Aug. 3rd.
Marathon Chewing
Digging

Sat. Aug. 4th

Tuneful Farting
Keep Away

Sun. Aug. 5th
Equestrian
Camera Avoidance Tai Kwon Do

Mon. Aug. 6th
Synchronized Peeing
DE-Stuffing

Tues. Aug. 7th
Free Style Zoomies
Roaching and Rolling

Wed. Aug. 8th
Squirrel Hurdles
DRAW your Peeple
Snack Sack Race

Thurs. Aug.9th
Boxing
EXTREME Weather Sports

Fri. Aug. 10th
Turbo Track
Snoopendous SniffAthon

Sat. Aug. 11th
The Great Tennis Ball Tournament
Bathtub Wrestling

Sun. Aug. 12th
Closing Ceremony

We are going to try to see if we can find the links to the actual entry blogs and put up links for those, too.

Happy 4th Birthday Katy

Mom is so excited that Katy is having a birthday tomorrow. We have been promised doggy ice cream and other fun. It is supposed to be hot so probably not too much outdoor play.

Katy is taking it all in stride. While I get all excited about more toys and bones, Katy tends to take it in more slowly.

Can you believe Mom taught her to sit on my couch? Well I guess it is her birthday weekend and all.

The heat has been hindering out outdoor training for the Olympics. The heat wave is rumored to be breaking tonight with a thundershower. So, we should be back training for those outdoor events soon.

Wordless Wednesday: Fighting the Heat

Baypath's Bark in the Park 2012 was a Wonderful Event

We wanted to get the information out about the Blogville Olympics yesterday, but we wanted to thank the Baypath Humane Society for sponsoring Bark in the Park at Hopkinton State Park. We spent Father's Day walking with our Dad and Mom to raise money for Baypath and got to do some other fun stuff while we were there.



This was us hanging out as we were waiting for the walk to begin. We met so many cool dogs. Many like us were adopted from rescue, others shelters like Baypath. We met a Sheltie alumnus of Baypath. He even walked in the parade of alumni's they had later. Mom was excited to meet a collie. The collie's owner was equally excited to meet Shelties as he had never met any. It made for an interesting exchange.



This walk was a little longer and hillier than the Whisker Walk or the other walks Mom has been doing as she recovers. She was quite tired when she was done. Therefore, after the walk, the humans got lunch and we rested and got quite comfortable and dirty in the black mulch. We looked like mulch creatures when we got up.

There were some fun booths and agility tryouts. Bailey did well at a sniffing event. Katy cheered from the sidelines.

Mom has finally admitted we will not be entering the Olympic swimming events and not due to the lack of water. We were allowed at the beach near the boat docks and while many dogs were wading and jumping in, we refused to put paw in the water although we did walk on the docks watching the other dogs enjoy the activity. The other Sheltie owner said his dog refuses to go near the water, too. We are hoping this makes our case stronger with Mom as she has been hopeful we would come to enjoy the experience.

The Blogville Olympics is Coming

The Blogville Olympics is Coming!

Animal athletes of all kind are welcome to join in the festivities. The Olympics will begin with the opening ceremonies on July 27th and end with the closing festivities on August 12th.

Start helping your athletes train now and get those pictures prepared. The Olympic events will begin accepting pictures for each event on July 9 with the deadline for pictures to be received midnight of July 18th. This will allow All Blogville Olympic athletes to be SCREENED fur Bugs. No early or late entries will be accepted.

Katy and I will be hosting squirrel hurdles and we will have information regarding our event up soon. The schedule of events and the blog locations for information on those events are available below.


Fri. July 27th.
OPENING Entertainment Extravaganza, Parade of Athletes, and Short Speech.

Sat. July 28th.
Window Nose Art/Snot Smears
Swimming

Sun. July 29th
Crazy Sleeping SINGLES
Synchronized Sleepers
Bouncing...... Narrative Style

Mon. July 30th
Cross Neighborhood Walkabout
Catch me IF you Can
BEACH Ball

Tues. July 31st
Gymnastics
Couch Potato Peeling

Wed. Aug. 1st
Tongue Curling / aka the Raspberry
Critter Stalking
DISCUS/frisbee

Thur. Aug. 2nd
Stick (s)
Pole Jumping

Fri. Aug. 3rd.
Marathon Chewing
Digging

Sat. Aug. 4th

Tuneful Farting
Keep Away

Sun. Aug. 5th
Equestrian
Camera Avoidance Tai Kwon Do

Mon. Aug. 6th
Synchronized Peeing
DE-Stuffing

Tues. Aug. 7th
Free Style Zoomies
Roaching and Rolling

Wed. Aug. 8th
Squirrel Hurdles
DRAW your Peeple
Snack Sack Race

Thurs. Aug.9th
Boxing
EXTREME Weather Sports

Fri. Aug. 10th
Turbo Track
Snoopendous SniffAthon

Sat. Aug. 11th
The Great Tennis Ball Tournament
Bathtub Wrestling

Sun. Aug. 12th
Closing Ceremony

Wordless Wednesday

Bailey 5 Garter Snakes 1

The totals are in, after this weekend with two additional captures, five garter snakes relocated, one escaped. The niece was back after Dad located another snake in the bulkhead. Turns out there were two and one actually made his way into the house. While hunting the first one the second one slid into the house. Thankfully, the basement is cold and it did not like its sanctuary. When the first one was relocated, Dad and the niece closed the bulkhead and figured if left alone it might return to the heat of the bulkhead. Sure enough, after an hour, they checked and while stubborn, he was captured and relocated. During his capture, he also gave away the location of the snake entrance and exit. Dad has since boarded this up, so he has high hopes this will reduce or eliminate snakes in the bulkhead.

Dad said I was instrumental in locating and flushing out the snakes. However, I was also responsible for the snake that got in the house as I got between the snake and the niece in an attempt to protect her from the snake. As a result, it was able to make its escape. I was very glad when it was caught later. I am also hoping that Dad's patch works.

Katy is getting tired of me working all the time. Yesterday, we had our first good yard zoomie in ages. While Mom was doing her yard walking exercises, I chased Katy through the hosta and lily plants. She was so happy. Katy also reminded me that we need to practice for the Blogville Olympics. We are hosting Squirrel Hurdles and while I have been hunting snakes, my training for clearance of hosta and other floras have been limited. Katy while shorter has a much better clearance range than I do right now. Yesterday she showed me some amazing moves. I have some work to catch up.

Whisker Walk 2012

We had such a good time at Whisker Walk. There is something magical about this place. Last year it was one of the first places Katy really opened up and enjoyed herself outside the house. She came home a much happier dog. This year she got out of the car a little scared, but instead of taking up her usual spot right next to or underneath me, she had a new companion, Dad and Mom's niece.

I confess I get excited at events like this. There are many things to see and smell. Dad was going to walk Katy and I was going to go with the niece. Well I did take advantage. Dad has a firm hand on the leash. I know I cannot get away with pulling and tugging. So, they decided to try an experiment. Katy would go with the niece and Dad would lay down the law with me. We were worried Katy would shake and panic, instead she blossomed. No more clinging to me, she found her own path. She completely bonded with the niece. Mom and Dad were thrilled.



Along with the walk, we were able to visit some of our favorite booths. The niece was thrilled with the carnival food. Do to the nieces car trouble we arrived later than last year, but we still saw just about everything. I finished the agility course this year. Dad was so proud of me. They decided since Katy had such a great day that she would just watch and cheer me on. Last year she refused to try anything but the tires.





At the Tennis Ball Fetch, I was able to win prizes, Katy still is not anxious to participate.



One human had donated handmade jewelry as a prize so for the first time Katy and I gave the niece a birthday present we won ourselves. She was impressed. She had never been given a birthday gift that a pet won for her.



We had a wonderful time. Our rescue, New England Sheltie is in CT and does not participate in these events. Therefore, the past two years, our group has walked for the sponsoring organization the Sterling Shelter. Mom got a purple t-shirt for the donation our group made.

We are looking forward to attending Baypath’s Bark in the Park on June 17.

Bailey Takes on the Garter Snakes

This looks like a harmless bulkhead, but I have been warning Mom and Dad for months that it harbored the most feared garter snakes. Yes, not deadly or really even harmful, but greatly feared in this house. Neither Mom nor Dad are fans. Not just one, but a family was living here. I barked, I walked up on it, I sniffed, I scratched, but nobody would pay attention to my snake alarm. We had snakes.

Then came the niece who rescued us when Mom was in the hospital. Mom and Dad asked her if she would help clear the veggie gardens for planting since Mom is under doctor's order to do no physical stuff for a while. While she is terrified of spiders, she has no issue with snakes. Now I had a partner to work with on getting the snake issued solved.

While she and Dad were working on getting the gardens cleared Mom told Dad she thought I might be on to something and sure enough while the bulkhead was clear earlier, when Dad checked after my warnings a snake had dropped in for a visit. We even learned that snakes can climb stairs. The first snake was relocated much to Mom's relief. I however, knew this was not an isolated bachelor or bachelorette. This snake had family. When the bulkhead was closed I put nose to the ground and found another snake. When they took a break from veggie gardening Dad could not believe there were two, but Mom convinced him to check. This one tried to twist himself into a place where he could not be pulled out. However, my barking and her quick speed had that snake relocated as well. They eventually went back to gardening, but I knew we were not done. These snakes are tricky.

Sure enough, I found the scent and Mom had Dad come over and only Mom and I really believed there would be another. This one was small and angry. It had plans and no desire to relocate. He tried to bite and I rushed down the stairs in full attack mode. Nobody bites my snake wrangler. The snake moved out of its protective area allowing it to be trapped and again relocated. We found one more outside the bulkhead, but it was worm sized and too small to catch.

It is so wonderful to finally be listened to and have a partner who is not afraid to deal with these snakes. Katy patrolled the back fence all afternoon to prevent the snakes from coming back. We hope they like their new digs better. We do not want them in the yard again.




Dad has since cleaned out what Mom called the snake garden and put an Eggplant in it since there was no room for it in the Veggie gardens. Mom and Dad's niece has promised to come back and remove any other snakes that might decide to make an appearance. It is so good to have a partner in your work.

Wordless Wednesday:Whisker Walk

Baypath's Bark in the Park 2012 at Hopkinton State Park

While we have lots of stories to tell you we want to get the word out about Baypath Humane Society's Bark in the Park at Hopkinton State Park in MA. We had so much fun at the Whisker Walk we are really pushing Mom to make it the extra half mile to finish the short route of the walk. She is making progress on her recovery and we are sure she can do it.

The event is being held at Hopkinton State Park on Sunday, June 17 from 10-3.

Like the Whisker Walk in addition to the walk itself there are lots of family and dog friendly events, vendors and food to be found at the event. We are excited about going to the park as we have never been. Mom is not sure what the normal rules are about dogs at Hopkinton State Park, but she plans to find out while we are there. For that day, it is open for dog business.

For those of you in the area, the information regarding Baypath's Bark in the Park event can be found here.

We hope this helps get the word out.

We are Back

Mom's surgery was moved from this week to before Memorial Day. While she had grand plans for preposting to cover the time she would not be available, all that was lost when she had to have her preop appointments and then scramble to change coverage for us and finish all the details a couple of weeks ahead of schedule.

Katy has finally made a real close friend outside the family. One of Mom and Dad's adult nieces took the night shift while Dad stayed overnight with Mom at the hospital. Katy decided that someone who would come and not only feed you, but stay the night could possibly be trusted. While this person has visited the house and even stayed overnight on occasions, Katy has only shown slight interest. With Mom and Dad gone, she started to open up.

We would like to say we were on our best guest behavior while Mom and Dad were gone, but we were too worried. Sure, Dad leaves but not Mom. These things just are not normal. We were a bit restless and anxious. In fact, Bailey still is off his food since Mom has come home. I have been trying to help by offering to eat it for him, but all that happened was Dad rediscovered the spray bottle.

Mom finally is up to posting again and has some interesting stories to tell. She made it to the Whisker Walk and has photographs and stories to share from our adventure there.

We will be visiting blogs again. It has been rather hit or miss since Mom's surgery. We have missed all of you.

Wordless Wednesday: A Morning Hug

Shelties in the Irises

Mom loves her irises, but never seems to get pictures of them. This weekend Dad got a double bonuse. He took pictures of her irises in bloom and caught us, too. She was very pleased with his creative shots.

Some Times You Just Need to Squeek a Toy

This has been a crazy week. Mom and Dad are getting some wiring work done on the house. They keep telling us this will keep us from needing to wear those coats they bought for us last year when the heat went out. All we know is that there are people in the house making lots of noise. Unlike our favorite plumber, these guys don't bring dog treats. Can you believe it?

Wordless Wednesday: Don't Bother Me Hockey's On

Where is the Sun?

Mom said that April showers would bring the flowers. Well it is May and we want to know when it will stop raining so she will come out and enjoy them with us.

Whisker Walk is Sunday June 3, 2012

Mom told us she saw the announcement for the Whisker Walk in the paper Saturday and we are so excited. For those of you in the Massachusetts area the 5th Annual Whisker Walk is being held on Sunday, June 3rd from 11AM-3PM at the Lancaster Fairgrounds. You can find all the information here. Along with the walk, there is a whole fair to enjoy. This is a big fundraiser for local animal shelters in the area.

Last year we not only walked, but we had a wonderful time at the fair. Bailey won the bed you constantly see us photographed on at the dog games last year. Mom and Dad had professional pictures taken of us that now are on t-shirts and coffee mugs. It was very dog friendly event.

This was us waiting as we lined up for the walk

This is where we won the bed. We did not do so well at the agility. However, the bed more than made up for our embarrassment at the agility arena. After all, there were no prizes in agility. The ball retrieval won us a comfy TV watching bed.

We encourage all of you who will be in the Massachusetts area to come out for the Whisker Walk and support the local shelters and rescues in the area. It is a great fundraiser and lots of fun for dogs and their family members.

Wordless Wednesday: Waiting for the Ball

Exploiting Fear of Dogs

Mom was angry this morning. She was on one of her message boards and again saw someone trying to start dog fear by posting a link to a few stories about children killed by dogs. One story was questionable at best because it seems more likely a case of child abuse/neglect than a dog killing. The other was more typical of what one reads about in these cases, poor parenting. In this case, a child visiting a relative’s home attacked by a family pet.

Ironically, the vast majority of posters admit they fear or do not like dogs, but feel they are experts in knowing that dogs are not safe around young children. Well if you are afraid of dogs, it is best not to bring your children around them. Your fear and dislike of them is not likely to make the experience a successful one. However, creating the hysteria that NO family should ever have a dog in the house that has a baby or a toddler only increases the potential for homeless dogs as parents are manipulated into fearing that the family dog will kill the child.

Frankly, I was amazed at how many people bought into the scenario. As a dog owner, I am always careful when children come into my home. I have learned not to expect parents to be responsible for their children. I must always be responsible for my dogs and supervise any and all interactions. While I have never had an issue, it does not mean there is not potential for one. Children and dogs are unpredictable and when you do not know how they will react to each other, it is important to supervise.

I respect parents who do not feel they have the time, resources, or patience to handle both pets and young children. However, the current hysteria and hostility seems ridiculous. As with all things, responsibility and supervision are at the bottom of so many of these dog and children issues. Instead of focusing on the lack of those skills, people have chosen to scapegoat the dogs.